Preserving a country or a region’s cultural heritage gives people a sense of unity, a sense of belonging and the opportunity to better understand the contributions of previous generations. It, in a way, implies a shared bond.Preserving and protecting cultural sites, monuments, folklore, traditional practices, languages, customs, artistic expressions, social values, etc. are vital for future generations, so in this context, Lt Governor Manoj Sinha’s missive to all stakeholders, both inside government and outside, to revive, restore and preserve Jammu and Kashmir’s cultural heritage is timely and well intentioned.That the UT administration is periodically reviewing action plans linked to heritage maintenance and preservation indicates a deep desire to ensure that local inhabitants remain connected to their social values, ancient and traditional beliefs, religions and customs.

“Conservation efforts must retain the aesthetic, historic and social values of our great civilizational and cultural legacy”, Sinha said during a meeting to implement the scheme for the ‘Revival, Restoration, Preservation and Maintenance of the Ancient Cultural Heritage’ of J&K. It is a good thing that the UT Department of Culture has been tasked with the responsibility of coordinating with experts and stakeholders to adopt value-based conservation methods and apply them with transparency. Pursuing an integrated approach on the heritage conservation of 35 projects (18 in Jammu & 17 in Kashmir), is indeed a commendable initiative. Focus is also being trained on developing a digital library to promote knowledge heritage.
The emphasis on welfare measures for local artists, promoting the culture of J&K in other states of the Indian Union and vice versa, organising cultural exchange programmes for artists, suggests that the ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat’ movement is getting the required attention in the UT. That the Department of Culture has been instructed to coordinate with Centre to execute the conservation and restoration of Shergarhi in Kashmir and Mubarak Mandi in Jammu, both symbols of Kashmir’s great architectural heritage, is a welcome initiative.
The need of the hour is to create a common sense of identity and that can only be done by selecting stories and incidents from our past. The objective should be to convey something of substance and benefit to us, about us as a people. Promoting Kashmiriyat through various mediums at a time when the Information Revolution is at its peak is necessary.